NOTES :
1) IN
RECOVERY STAGE, THE CIRCUIT OFFERS THE BATTERY A FIXED CURRENT OF 200mA AND
CHECKS THE RESULTANT VOLTAGE. IF THE BATTERY IS DEEP-DISCHARGED (SULFATED),
THE VOLTAGE EXCEEDS 13.9V. THE CIRCUIT RESETS THE VOLTAGE LIMIT AT +/- 20V,
WHILE CONTINUING TO TRY TO DELIVER A FIXED 200mA. IF & WHEN THE BATTERY
ACCEPTS THIS CURRENT THE VOLTAGE WILL GRADUALLY REDUCE AND WHEN IT REDUCES
BELOW 13.9V THE VOLTAGE LIMIT IS RESET AT 14.3V FOR THE BULK CHARGE
STAGE. FOR A BATTERY WHICH IS NOT
SULFATED THE CIRCUIT PROCEEDS IMMEDIATELY TO BULK CHARGE.
2) IF
THE RECOVERY ACTION WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL AFTER 2 HOURS, THE CIRCUIT GOES
AUTOMATICALLY INTO THE BULK CHARGE STAGE. THE BULK CHARGE STAGE TERMINATES
WHEN THE CONSTANT CURRENT CAUSES THE VOLTAGE TO RISE TO 14.3V.
3) TO
COMPLETE THE VERIFICATION STAGE, THE BATTERY MAY NOT DRAW MORE THAN 200mA
WITHIN 30 MINUTES OF THE END OF THE BULK CHARGE STAGE, AND, THE ACTUAL
VOLTAGE MAY NOT REDUCE BY MORE THAN
300mV BELOW THE 13.6V FLOAT VOLTAGE SETTING.
IF
EITHER EVENT SHOULD OCCUR, THE
CIRCUIT REVERTS TO BULK CHARGE UNTIL THE LIMIT OF 14.3V IS REACHED AGAIN,
WHEREUPON THE TIMER RESETS TO ZERO, AND ANOTHER TIMED FLOAT STAGE COMMENCES.
4) WHEN
30 MINUTES HAVE PASSED WITHOUT A REVERSION TO THE BULK CHARGE STAGE, THE
CIRCUIT PAUSES FOR 30 MINUTES TO CHECK FOR SELF-DISCHARGE. NO CURRENT IS
OFFERED DURING THIS PERIOD. THE VOLTAGE IS MONITORED. IF THIS FALLS BELOW
12.3V THE RED “WEAK BATTERY” WARNING LED INDICATES. OTHERWISE, THE GREEN
“GOOD BATTERY” LED INDICATES.
5)
THE CYCLE OF 30 MINUTES PAUSE FOR
SELF-DISCHARGE CHECK AND THEN 30 MINUTES FLOAT CHARGE, CONTINUES UNTIL THE
OPTIMATE IS DISCONNECTED.
This document is
copyright and may not be reproduced without the express permission of the
author, TecMate International NV, Sint-Truidensesteenweg 252, B-3300
Tienen, Belgium.
